It doesn't really matter what any of us would do in a situation like this ...

It's Gil's boat, his plans, his dreams, his budget ...
All we can do is support him if we can / want, and help where we can.

We all make our own choices when things go FUBAR, and what those actions are not only depends on personal choices, character, how we respond to a crisis / loss etc. but also the ($) value of the boat, (local) support from friends, available funds etc. etc.

I personally would probably have moved heaven and earth and spent my kids inheritance to get my boat back. Which would actually be beyond stupid, cos her market value is next to nothing - I'd be better off letting her go, take some time to deal with the loss and buy another boat ...

Gil is less emotional about it (? I think, but have no way of knowing) and seems to be reacting more rational then I would. Which is probably for the best, all things considered.

What I'm trying to say is, there is no right or wrong way to go about it.
Only his way, since it's his boat and his life.
We all react differently to a crisis, and we all have different means at our disposal to deal with them.
No point in arguing about who has to react in what way to whatever crisis they find themselves in.

Reluctant to dip in here, but Gil spent a night with us aboard after the loss of his boat. I think he has exactly the right attitude. He wants nothing more than to get his vessel back but also realizes that it is distinctly possible he will not. That is a blend of hope and realism that anyone would need to face this situation. We wish him the safe return of S/V Dagny.

This horrific event could have happened to any of us and we all would have done something different. Some may have done better and some worse. And 20-20 hindsight would have found flaws in even the most prudent plan. However there is no value with second guessing or "he should have" ideas. Please channel your efforts in what could be done to help him find the boat. And I applaud those that are doing exactly that. Ocean Girl you are a gem that we can all learn from you. And many others are doing really good things.

Ideas that may prevent it for others or things we could do to improve the results should it happen are fine, but if this happened to any of us, regardless of our financial ability, we would be devastated and probably not thinking as clearly as we should be to get the fastest results. So many thanks to those who are helping, those who want to provide good ideas and those who have given generously. I bow to your kindness.

Kudos to you Gil. I've read a little bit on your blog and have been following this thread and my impression is that you're a smart guy and have a gift for writing. Continue writing and hope that one day the boat will show up. Even the "negative posts" to me have some value and should not discourage you from following your dreams.

I have to admit that not finding Dagny that very same night puzzled me. I think we went searching too far West, not enough North. Dagny is the flush deck version of the Frances 26. There is very little sticking out of the water. Sails were down. It was a very dark cloudy night. I have no doubt we missed her by a hair. There isn't much here in West-End aside from the Old Bahama Bay Marina, which did not have a towing service when I called to ask if anyone could get me in instead of anchoring. The only person who did anything is Keith Cooper from BASRA.

As to writing, it comes easy to me, words flow, and I enjoy it. I suspect it has therapeutic qualities in my case, which I really need right now. My written English is much better now than my written French. Writing for a living is something I haven't, maybe mistakenly, considered seriously. I started my blog for friends and family, though not ignorant of the success of some popular Youtube channels. I certainly wasn't counting on such revenues to finance my adventure. I posted this thread hoping for sighting reports, not financial help, which frankly is hard to accept. I have always been very independent. The help I have received has been invaluable, but also a painful reminder that I was not able to pull my own weight these last few days. I can't thank enough anyone who has helped in their own way.

Leaving like I did with a tiny budget might not have been the wisest thing to do but I did not expect to be separated from my home, and with Dagny would have been just fine. You hear about things like this happening, but it seems so unlikely.. Such mishaps are not simple events. First there was the electrical problem preventing me from starting my engine (it worked fine during the crossing) and entering the channel. Then the lack of towing service at WE. The anchor dragging was certainly unexpected in such shallow water. The weather, time of night and location all contributed to not finding Dagny in a timely manner.

I remain in West-End for the time being, maybe two or three days, then should head for Nassau to be closer to the airlines. A fellow cruiser offered me a berth on his boat. They are crossing over on the 2nd and might be in Nassau shortly thereafter. It might be my best option.

If Dagny is no found, and even if she is, I ought to visit my parents back in France. It has been a few years since I saw them last, and it is always a shock to see how much older they look every time. To answer one poster, no, I can't ask them for money. Although they know of the situation, I would rather spare them the details and cause undue stress at their age.

I have done everything I thought was reasonable to find Dagny. It isn't anyone's responsibility to find her for me. The support has been overwhelming. Glenn at SSCA has been instrumental in organizing the search. I don't have thousands of dollars to send a plane flying around, risking someone's life for a boat, as important as she is to me, but I can ask people to keep their eyes opened would they happen to be in the region.

In a way, as I mentioned before, I have no regrets about trying, leaving the dock, crossing the Gulf Stream, then sailing back to WE on sail only. It will be a cherished memory for the rest of my life. Maybe that's worth $20K. I am not done mind you, because now I have tasted the salt.. Whether Dagny is found or not, I suspect I will be back on the sea. I will keep on writing about it because I enjoy it. I have stumbled into the greatest community I have ever seen, and want to be part of it.

In a way, as I mentioned before, I have no regrets about trying, leaving the dock, crossing the Gulf Stream, then sailing back to WE on sail only. It will be a cherished memory for the rest of my life. Maybe that's worth $20K. I am not done mind you, because now I have tasted the salt.. Whether Dagny is found or not, I suspect I will be back on the sea. I will keep on writing about it because I enjoy it. I have stumbled into the greatest community I have ever seen, and want to be part of it.

Gil.

Well said.

Life's a journey, not a destination. That experience cost you 20K, and it's certainly unique to your story. Doesn't belong to anyone else. Others have spent way more than that 20K for far less adventure.

I'll still hold out hope that your boat rejoins you, but for the moment you seem to have as good a plan as I can think of. Bon courage pour la suite.

It doesn't really matter what any of us would do in a situation like this ...

Actually, I think it's the only thing that matters. I joined this forum to benefit from the wide range of experiences and opinions available from ALL members. And I appreciate PCM's perspective, as well as many of the actions Gil took. I benefit from Gil's blog and PCM's pointed discussion, and I think both will make me a better sailor.

Thanks to the discussion here, I'll reconsider my choices of ground tackle, and purchase snorkel gear as essential ship's equipment. I'll think harder about lighting and AIS and transponders when I'm off the boat. I'll understand the limits of CAP, and know the technical abilities and policies of rescue assets. And I'll know more about the power of this forum to energize support, and how blogs can help communicate a story when it needs to be told.

I'll also know (and accept) that my choices will be critically examined by the harshest judge...the sea. I will also know that they will be examined here, by the wider cruising community, in the spirit first of helping, then of understanding, and finally, to avoid repeating my mistakes. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Full disclosure: I am a career mariner; 35 years at sea on Navy warships.

I had never considered AIS as a means to locate a drifting boat. I always viewed it as a collision avoidance system, which it is, but ultimately more than just that. Same with my inReach, which was intended for global texting and emergencies, not as a tracking system. Spot makes a tracker for $90 plus $100 per year. I thought about it, then discounted it thinking I had the inReach and nobody would steal a small sailboat like Dagny. I again failed to see it as a tracking device in case of an unmanned drift.

Lesson learned... I will never again leave a boat without a tracking device inside, seemingly well anchored or even in a marina...

Just make sure you leave the tracker on! Some on the forum have previously advocated turning AIS off in close quarters (like anchorages) because of unnecessary 'pings' on everyone else's receivers when visual is a better alarm system. This has been a good lesson on why that might not be a great idea, as there are many anchorages in the Bahamas where the Tongue is just a short distance away.

Gil-have you checked with your insurance company on whether Dagny's loss is covered? With S&R insurance too, it sounds like you may have been carrying full-load insurance, so don't assume the loss isn't covered. Always best to get the ball rolling early with those guys.

I crossed for the first time last year too, under sail only without an inboard, and agree that it is an experience well worth having! Best of luck.

Thanks to the discussion here, I'll reconsider my choices of ground tackle, and purchase snorkel gear as essential ship's equipment. I'll think harder about lighting and AIS and transponders when I'm off the boat. I'll understand the limits of CAP, and know the technical abilities and policies of rescue assets. And I'll know more about the power of this forum to energize support, and how blogs can help communicate a story when it needs to be told.

I'll also know (and accept) that my choices will be critically examined by the harshest judge...the sea. I will also know that they will be examined here, by the wider cruising community, in the spirit first of helping, then of understanding, and finally, to avoid repeating my mistakes. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Full disclosure: I am a career mariner; 35 years at sea on Navy warships.

Very well stated, even though I'm a day sailor and crew (others boats)
I plan on casting off in three years and consider reading threads like this
a great learning opportunity. I am sincerely heartened by the efforts of some
to unselfishly offer assistance and dismayed by others to condemn and question
motives. One of the things I've learned in this discussion is that I will leave my
Inreach plugged in and on whenever I leave an anchored boat be it mine or a boat I'm crewing on. That being said and wanting to make a contribution
To getting Gil back on board his boat, does anybody have any contacts with
the private satalite imaging companies such as, Digital Globe, Skybox,
AirDefence? Perhaps these companies that supply private digital imagery could be of assistance? Don't have a clue about how these companies operate
but maybe it's worth a shot.
Cheers

This is a classic example of an unprepared boat and an even less prepared skipper taking off on a journey that should never have happened. The results are as expected. Pity parties aren't going to change that. Wake up, and don't encourage that type of behavior.